Perpetual Vacation

This is the time of year when everyone is busy making vacation plans, is already on vacation or running back and forth to summer homes on weekends. But vacations and weekends come to an end, and there is all that in-between time that is often overlooked. In other words, what about the here and now? Why not experience the joy of discovery that a vacation provides right in your own backyard, so to speak. All it takes is being present in the moment: changing your vision, being alert.

Whether you are on your way to work, or going for a long after-dinner walk, do it as though you are a tourist. Take things in as though you are seeing them for the first time. Just by doing this, life perks up. All that is necessary is the spirit of adventure and some vigilance, and you’ll find you do not have to wait for a special once or twice a year getaway to feel refreshed.

The world is so full of novelty and beauty and creativity that there is always something new to catch your eye and captivate your fancy in your own city or town. Even on your own street, gardens, trees, flower boxes, a frieze on a building that you never noticed before, a detail on a house, or interesting tile-work can evoke a different perspective. I find that no matter how many times I walk down the same street, there’s always something to be discovered, and this kind of discovery always evokes joy.

One year a flowering plant made its way between two squares of sidewalk cement. It became the neighborhood miracle, as well as a conversation piece for people who had never even noticed each other before. If you change your perspective by approaching a street you are familiar with from a different direction, or walk down a different side of the street, you will find the street takes on a new appearance. You will notice different things about it.

By tuning into the environment and really focusing your attention on the specific details that pop out at you, whether it’s a flower petal or a leaf in a rain puddle, or some interesting grillework on a window, you are engaging your mind in a different way.

Instead of seeing the world through a swirl of thoughts and anxiety, plans and schedules, you begin to really see. It is like seeing through new eyes. Therefore a walk in you own neighborhood, or town, or city, can become as alive and interesting as a walk through some quaint foreign village or historic New England town.

In essence, this is a walking meditation. If you want to turn it into a more formal walking meditation, you can mentally name the things that catch your eye as they catch your eye. When random thoughts arise, acknowledge them to yourself by naming them, “thinking” and letting them go by naming the next thing that calls your attention to it, whether it’s a car, a sound, a person, or a color. Naming objects keeps your mind from getting caught up in thoughts and anchors you in the present. Underlying your thoughts there is a reservoir of energy that is ever renewing. A vacation from the steady stream of errant thoughts we are unaware of connects us to the inner source of energy beneath the thoughts, and is, therefore, as refreshing as a vacation from any other routine.

So walk your way into a season of discovery and adventure - right in your own neighborhood, or as Mother Teresa once said, “Grow where you’re planted.”

- Joan